


I've Got You

by Who_Cares



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Baz is still too nice, Falling In Love, Fluff, Sick Character, Sick Simon Snow, Sickfic, but oh well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:15:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28948026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Who_Cares/pseuds/Who_Cares
Summary: When Simon is in too much pain to sleep, and is too loud about it for Baz to, Baz decides to comfort him. The problem is, it's hard to act like you hate someone who's sleeping in your arms, and it's even harder to not fall further in love when the boy you like is so sick that he clings to you every chance he gets.
Relationships: Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow
Comments: 4
Kudos: 77





	I've Got You

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Sick Day Truce](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18434594) by [Who_Cares](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Who_Cares/pseuds/Who_Cares). 



> A newly edited version of my fic from 2019.

Simon:

I'm hot, my throat is killing me, I can barely breathe out of my nose, and I'm incredibly nauseous. I just want to sleep… I'm exhausted. I can't get comfortable though. The second I find a somewhat comfortable position, I cough or sneeze and everything hurts again.

I can feel Baz glaring at me and part of me wants to just say, ‘If you aren't going to sleep either way, then get over here and hold me’ but even with my brain barely working, I know that's a bad idea. Instead, I just roll over again, wishing I would puke so my stomach would calm down, or for literally any other comfort. 

“Do you know any spells that could make me throw up?” I ask without thinking.

“What? Why?”

“I just want to sleep, but everything hurts. Is there any way you could make me throw up so that my stomach will leave me alone?”

“No. I can’t. I don’t know what the Anathema would do about something like that, and I don't want to find out.”

I groan and close my eyes. “Thanks anyway.”

“Just go to sleep, Snow.”

“Wow… If only I had thought to try that.” I reply sarcastically, my stomach gurgling painfully as I roll over onto my side. I burp and groan softly, stomach acid burning in the back of my throat. "Ngh... You don't have to be so mean."

“Just _shut up_ already. I don’t care how sick you are. I will use _cat got your tongue_ on you. It’s one in the morning. I want to sleep even if you can’t.”  
...  
Baz:

Snow groans and his blanket rustles as he flips over for what feels like the hundredth time in the last hour alone. It’s almost three in the morning now, and his constant movement coupled with my enhanced hearing is keeping me awake. I know he’s uncomfortable, but this was the second night he had kept me up with all of his moving, coughing, and groaning. I want him to shut up already.

“Would you _please_ stop tossing and turning, Snow? You are getting on my last nerve!” I grumble, barely keeping myself from tossing my pillow at his head. Remembering the Anathema was the only reason I managed to restrain myself.

He sighs heavily, causing him to cough before saying, “Sorry that my pain is keeping you awake.” His voice is nasally and raspy due to his stuffed up nose and scratchy throat, and he sounds incredibly uncomfortable. He coughs again, sounding a bit like he was choking as he urgently pushes himself up into a sitting position and leans against his headboard. He coughs a few more times and then clears his throat with a sigh, drawing his knees up to his chest. How someone can manage to look so ill, and cute at the same time, I have no idea, but he’s doing it. I want to go over and cuddle him, to play with his hair and tell him he’ll be okay, but I know it's a terrible idea, so instead I continue to taunt him. What is wrong with me?

“Even if you fell asleep, your snoring sounds like a bloody chainsaw. It’s not like I’d be able to sleep that way either.”

“I’m sorry okay? I can barely breathe and I’m too achy to get comfortable,” he whimpers, sounding like he was about ready to cry. Maybe I really should just leave him alone... He looks away and lets out a couple of rough, painful sounding coughs.

“You could always go somewhere else.” I say, rolling my eyes.

He looks back over at me, resting his head on his knee. “Look Baz, I’m sorry. I know I’m being even more annoying than usual right now, but I’m really not-” he’s cut off by another cough, “I’m not trying to. I don’t mean to keep you awake. I wish I could stop making so much noise, but I-” he tries to clear his throat and ends up going into a violent coughing fit. It doesn’t stop for a long time, his face turning red as he gasps for air between coughs.

I give in at this point, standing up with a sigh and walking over to him, picking up his water and holding it out to him. “Here, Snow…” He takes it from me, hand trembling so hard that I just leave my hand on the glass to steady it, helping him take a couple of small sips. He finally relaxes a little after, letting out a soft groan. “Are you okay?”

“Do you care?”

I roll my eyes. “I don’t need you dying at three in the morning.”

“I’m fine...” 

“Good. Now move forward.”

He gives me a strange look, but surprisingly, does it without question. I sit down behind him and start to rub the back of his neck. “Shit you’re hot! How high is your temperature?”

“I don’t know… Hot… What are you doing?” 

“What does it look like I’m doing Snow?” 

“I don’t know. It’s weird… Why are your hands so cold?”

“I can stop,” I say. I tend to forget that I’m so much colder than most people, but I don’t have much blood of my own and I didn’t go hunt tonight, so my hands are severely lacking in blood flow.

“No, it feels good,” he says.

I massage his back and shoulders, rubbing between his shoulder blades with my thumbs and then sliding up to rub the back of his neck again. He’s incredibly tense, likely both because he’s uncomfortable, and because I’m the one touching him. 

“Relax Snow. Would I be doing this if I wanted to hurt you? I want you to relax and get some sleep so you feel better and stop annoying me at all hours of the night. Besides, Anathema.”

He seems to think for a second, then relaxes a little, leaning into my hands.

We just sit in silence like that for a long while, until Snow glances back at me. “Baz?” 

“Yes Snow?”

“Why do you hate me?”

I sit there, unsure of how to answer. It’s not like I can just say ‘Because I like you, and I can’t do anything about it because you’re straight, you have a girlfriend, and my family hates you’, so I stay silent.

“I don’t know why we have to fight so much. We’ve lived together for seven years. I mean, really, it doesn’t make sense.” 

“Shit Snow, you’re completely delirious.” I laugh.

“I’m not.” he argues. “I’m just curious. I don’t trust you, but at the same time, we don’t have to hate each other... You did push me down the stairs, and try to feed me to a chimera, and there was the whole trying to get rid of my voice thing, but we didn’t get along even before then.”

Again I don’t have any idea how I am supposed to respond. He obviously isn’t thinking properly whether thinks he is or not. 

“You are being really nice right now... It doesn’t make any sense.”

“I thought if I helped you relax I might actually be able to sleep for a bit tonight.”

“It’s weird.”

“I don’t have to continue.”

“No... please don’t stop. It feels so good...”

“Then stop talking.”

“Sorry.” he murmurs, turning to face forward again, coughing roughly into the crook of his elbow.

I find a knot in his back, and he groans, leaning further into my hands. 

I laugh. “That feel good?” 

“Mmm… Harder? Please?”

I laugh again, rolling my eyes and massaging a little harder. Slowly, his body becomes more and relaxed until he goes completely limp against me, starting to snore. I sigh, and go to lift him off of me, but he snuggles into my chest, making an adorable little contented noise, and I can't. He is so cute, and warm, and I'm weak. I could hold him forever. Instead of getting up, I adjust his pillow behind me and lean against it, tugging his blanket over the two of us before relaxing. At least he’s a little more quiet now. His upper body being elevated from leaning on me seems to be helping him breathe a little better. I let my eyes fall closed, absentmindedly rubbing his back until I drift off as well.  
…  
I’m awoken at Crowley knows what time by Snow clumsily throwing the blanket off of us, getting up, and rushing to the bathroom. I grimace as I hear him heave and then the sound of vomit splattering on the floor. 

I push the last bit of the groggy, half asleep feeling aside, and let out a sigh as I get to my feet, hating the feeling of the cold tile as I go to get my wand up off of my nightstand and then walk to the bathroom to help him with the mess.

“You okay?” I ask him, standing in the doorway.

He just groans softly, sinking down to the floor next to the toilet. 

“ _ **Into thin air**_.” I murmur, the mess vanishing as I move to lightly rub his back. “Are you done?”

He shrugs, and a moment later, he retches again. I step over and rub his back gently as he empties his stomach the rest of the way.

Once he’s finally finished, he groans and wipes his mouth on his sleeve. “I feel like shit...”

“Yeah. I’ll bet you do.” I say, barely stifling a laugh as I help him to his feet. He flushes the toilet and makes his way over to the sink, his movements precarious. I sigh softly and step closer. “Here, let me help you stay upright. You’re clumsy enough when you aren’t sick.” 

He sighs, letting me steady him as he rinses out his mouth and washes his face and then I help him back into bed. When he nearly collapses after barely two steps, I tuck my wand into my waistband, scoop him up bridal style, and carry him the last few feet without even thinking.

“Thanks.” he murmurs as I set him down on his bed and adjust his blanket over him.

I nod and take my wand out pointing it at his forehead. He cringes slightly, moving his arm to block his face, and I can’t help but feel bad for not telling him what I was planning on doing before I pulled my wand out. “Anathema, Snow. I don't want to hurt you. I’m just going to take your temperature.” He sighs and lowers his arm a little, his hand still resting over his mouth. I'm still making him nervous. There's nothing I can do about that now though. I gently rest the tip of my wand against his forehead “ _ **You're burning up!**_ ”

“What is it?” Snow asks a moment later.

“40.7… You really aren't feeling good, huh?”

Snow groans, closing his eyes. “I wanna disappear…”

“Sorry, Snow…” I murmur, pressing my hand to his forehead for a second and then gently running my fingers through his hair. He sighs softly and I turn to walk back to my own bed

“Wait… Please don’t go.” he murmurs. Crowley, the fever must really be affecting his brain.

“I’ll be back in just a second.” I say, turning to walk into the bathroom. I get out a washcloth, get it damp with cool water and squeeze it out before taking it back to Snow and placing it on his forehead. “There, maybe this will bring down your temperature some.”

“Yeah, maybe, but I preferred your hand.”

I laugh, imagining myself awkwardly sitting there with my hand across his forehead. He’s so out of it. I sit down next to him on his bed and lightly run my fingers through his hair again. He reaches out and pulls me closer, so I lay down next to him. His head moves to rest on my chest. I almost complain about the wet washcloth on my shirt, but Simon Snow is snuggling with me, and I don’t think I would care if someone dumped a bucket of water on me. So, I just continue to run my fingers through his hair until we both fall asleep.  
...

I wake up the next morning to the sound of my alarm going off. Snow is still asleep on my chest, curled up with his arms around me. I gently move him off and turn off the alarm before tucking him in. Then I go into the bathroom to get ready for class, and when I walk back out, Snow is sitting up, leaning up against his headboard again. 

“How are you feeling this morning, Snow?” I ask.

“Awful.” he groans, sniffling and sighing softly.

I walk over and pick up his box of tissues, holding it out to him.“I can get your work from your classes if you want.”

“Do you have to go?” he asks, and I have to admit, I’m surprised by the question. I would have assumed he would want to be alone, or at the very least that he would want me to go away. Crowley, he must be really sick.

“Yes, I do. I have class.” I say. “I’m not skipping just because you have a shitty immune system.”

“You have amazing grades in all of our classes. You could miss one day without it causing problems.” he says before wiping his nose, and throwing the tissue into the bin next to his bed.

“I can’t. I need to go.”

“Please?” he whines, pouting a bit. “I don’t wanna be alone all day. I wanna cuddle…”

“You want to cuddle with me?”

“Please? I feel awful... Being held is nice...”

Damn my weak, Simon Snow obsessed brain… I can’t make myself turn that down. Nothing important is happening today anyway... I sigh. “Fine...”

He gives me a weak smile, and I change back into pyjamas, before putting my uniform away, picking up a book, and then sitting down next to him. He leans his head over onto my shoulder. 

“My head hurts.” he whines.

“I know.”

He groans, leaning his full weight into me.

“Can I take your temperature really quick?” I ask.

He nods lightly.

I pick up my wand off of Snow’s nightstand, and point it at his forehead. 41.3. “It went up.” I say with a sigh, setting the wand back down. Snow groans again and slides down to where he is laying down on his side, head on my thigh. I rest my hand on his head, and he sighs, hugging my leg to his chest. I just play with his hair for a bit, and a few minutes later, he’s asleep. I open my book and start to read.  
…  
Simon:

My stomach is a painful, rolling mess when I wake up. I groan, leaning to the side and letting out some of the gas that had built up in me.

“Ugh… I know you don't feel well, but is that necessary, Snow?”

“Sorry… My stomach is a wreck…”

“I envy your clogged nose.”

“I'd rather be able to breathe.” 

“I barely can at this point. Crowley, that was foul.”

I groan softly as the cramping starts to worsen. “You're going to hate me in a second, because I'm not done.”

“I thought it was obvious by now that I already hate you.”

I let out another fart before groaning softly, and lightly rubbing my stomach. If only anything would help. All of the pain in my body was overwhelming with the muscle aches, my burning throat, and the almost unbearable dizzy headache that I had had for three days now.“Do you have to constantly be so rude?” I ask.

“No, it's a choice, but I don't plan on doing anything differently.”

“You're so annoying…”

“Look, Snow, I really don't care if you have gas. Just relax.”

There's another long gurgle in my lower abdomen and I groan softly. “Actually, I think I'm just gonna go to the bathroom…”

He sighs. “You don't have to.”

“No… I umm… I really do.” I murmur, getting up.

“Oh… Okay. Do you need help walking over there? I know you're shaky.”

“Umm… I've got it myself…” I say quickly, rushing off to the bathroom, mercifully without falling or making a mess, though just barely.  
…  


Baz:

Later that afternoon I heard a knock at the door. Snow had been asleep for a while, clinging to me, his full body on top of me, head on my chest, arms tucked under my own. Luckily it was just Bunce who walked in a moment later and not the Mage. That would’ve been awkward… Maybe I should be surprised that she can get up here, but I don’t think there’s much she could do that would really make me all that surprised. I know she’s powerful and incredibly smart. I’m not shocked that she figured out how to do it.

She looks over the two of us, giving me a weird look, seemingly unsure of what to say. 

“To be completely honest, I’m just as confused by this as you are.” I say.

“Merlin... How sick is he?”

“Cough, headache, stuffed up nose, stomachache, and an incredibly high fever, hence the clingy...” I say. He had also had some pretty awful gas as well as diarrhea since that morning, but I saw no reason to go that far into detail with Bunce. Snow was embarrassed enough as it was.

“I brought scones for him, but if it’s that bad, I can’t imagine he’s going to want to eat much. You can have some if you want. It seems like you probably haven’t been allowed to eat today.” 

“I’m okay.” I say. That isn’t really the kind of hunger I was feeling at the moment. I need to go hunt. It had been too long, I can almost physically feel how weak Snow is. I can’t tell her that though. Maybe she would be willing to stay here and let me go out during dinner... I don’t want to leave Snow alone. She walks over and sets the plate on Snow’s nightstand before sitting down at the end of his bed. 

“So, did you two decide to become friends?” she asks.

“Just because I want him to feel better, doesn’t mean I like him. He tends to snore when he’s sick, and it makes it incredibly difficult for me to sleep. Don’t mistake my love of sleep for my liking Simon Snow.” 

“Okay...” 

“You’ve got to be the world’s worst villain.”

“That’s how you see me? A villain just because Snow and I don't get along? I didn't ask to be his roommate, and I don't have to like people just because they're supposed to ‘save us’ or whatever. He's a mess, and he's annoying. He just happens to be an extremely sick, annoying mess today, and he begged me not to leave him alone.”

“Don't act like you are innocent. You have actively tried to injure, get into fights with, and _kill_ Simon.”

“It's been a long time since I've done anything that bad. Not to mention he’s the one who can't control his temper. I just don't bother being nice to him.”

“Sure.”

“Listen, Snow and I have dropped the old grudges for the day, can we try that too? I'm being nice. Or, as nice as I get with people I have no use for.”

“You really are something…” she says with a sigh. “But fine… What are you reading?” she asks.

I hold up the copy of The Great Gatsby that I had been reading for the past few hours so that she can read the cover.

“I wouldn’t have thought that would be the kind of book you like.” she says with a surprised expression on her face.

“It’s alright I suppose. Not the most interesting book in my opinion. If I’m being honest, it isn’t exactly something I would usually choose. I just picked it up the last time I was at the library. I usually choose a random one as well as some I know I will like.”

“That’s an interesting idea.”

“I’ve ended up reading a lot of good books that I never would have thought to read this way.”

She nods, smiling a bit. “I should try that some time..."

"Mmhmm..." I hum, turning my attention back to the book.

Snow coughs and nuzzles into me a bit. I gently rub my hand over his back, and continue to read. He starts snoring again, clinging to me and drooling slightly on my shirt. He’s lucky he’s cute and that I love feeling warm for once. I’m only a little sorry that my heat source is his fever.

“How on earth did he convince you to stay here today?”

“He has a fever of over 41 degrees. I couldn’t just leave him alone all day.”

“Aren’t you worried about getting sick yourself?”

“I’ll be fine.” 

“Whatever you say.” she says with a little shrug.

"Speaking of getting sick, you should probably leave."

She shrugs. “I'll be fine.”

"Seriously, there's no reason for both of us to be exposed like this. I've got him."

"Are you sure?"

I nod. "If you have to do something, you could come back and watch him while I go get dinner later. I need to do a couple of things, and I don't think he should be alone like this for very long."

"I can do that I suppose."

"Thanks."

"I'll be back around 7."

"Try to be quiet. I don't want to wake him up if we don't need to."

…  
Simon:

I wake up stiff, mouth dry, half of my face sticky with drool and my nose is too stuffed up to breathe. I groan and shakily roll onto my back, everything aching and heavy. Someone helps me as I struggle to sit up, and then a couple of cleaning spells wash over me. For once, it doesn't feel invasive. It just feels clean, and all of me feels less sticky. It's nice. Then a glass is pressed lightly to my lips.

“Drink.” Baz’s voice says softly. “You look bad enough without being dehydrated.”

I push the glass away as I cough. Merlin it burns. My throat feels like I swallowed shards of glass. Baz’s hand rubs my back as I hack until my lungs ache and tears are dripping down my cheeks. 

“Tissues?” I ask, my voice sounding awful even to me.

The box is placed in my lap, and when I struggle to get one out due to my trembling hands, Baz does it for me. 

“I'm not holding this to your nose for you.” he says.

“Didn' ask you to. ‘s gross. ‘m jus’ having a hard time today…”

“I know. Just blow your nose and then you need to drink some water, okay?”

I groan, blowing my nose, ending up with around a dozen used tissues, a raw nose, and I still can't breathe. Baz holds the small rubbish bin out to me so I can throw away the dirty tissues and then he holds the glass back to my lips. 

I lightly push his arm back. “I really don't want it.”

“And I don't want to have to babysit you, but you won't take care of yourself, so clearly, I need to. Now drink.”

“Give me a second? I'm really dizzy.”

“Just take a couple sips and I'll leave you alone.”

“Do you want me to vomit on you? That's what's gonna happen if I try to put anything in my stomach right now.”

“Fine. You need water though.”

“I will. Just… In a second.”

He sets the glass down and then gently pulls me into his lap, letting me lean back against him. His wand presses against my forehead, and Baz murmurs something under his breath. 

“Snow… Can I help you get your shirt off? You need to cool down.”

“What is it?”

“Almost 42 degrees, and while you're used to setting everything on fire, that is still far too high.”

“Is that why I feel like I'm dying?”

“Shirt off Snow. I'll move if you want.”

“Don't? Leaning on you feels nice.”

“Alright… Here, let me help you.” he says, carefully tucking his fingers under the waistband of my shirt and helping me pull it off. 

I groan softly as I lean back against him.

He gently rubs his hand over my stomach. “Can I convince you to drink a little?”

“Umm… Yeah. Can you hold it for me?”

He nods, picking the glass up and holding it up to my mouth. “You control it. I'll just make sure the glass doesn't fall.”

“Thanks…” I murmur, taking a couple small sips, waiting a moment to make sure it wouldn't make me instantly nauseous, and then taking another sip. “I don't think I can handle more now.”

“One more drink?”

“No…”

“Okay. I'm going to bug you again in like half an hour though.”

“Fine.” I groan, letting my eyes fall closed. Baz goes back to rubbing my stomach, letting me curl into the crook of his neck, holding me close, and it feels so good. He starts rocking me lightly, and I let out a soft hum, quickly drifting off to sleep.  
…  
Penelope:

When I walk back into the room, both of them are asleep. Baz seemingly only dozing, but out of it enough that he didn't look up when I walked in. I've never seen Baz like this before. He's so gentle, cradling Simon like a baby, trying to make him comfortable. Either someone spelled him, or he’s in love. It's kind of adorable. It felt like I had walked in on something private, almost as bad as if they'd been kissing, and I feel like I should leave. Baz needed to go eat though, so I walked over to wake him up.  
…  
Baz:

At Just past seven, I'm awoken from a light doze by a hand resting on my shoulder and shaking me lightly. I stretch a little and look over at Bunce, my brain taking a minute to understand what was happening before I finally remembered our plan from earlier. I yawn, carefully moving Snow off of me, and lying him down on the bed, pulling his blanket up over him. He groans and opens his eyes a bit.

“Where are you going?” he mumbles.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. I’m going to get food, but Bunce is here if you need something.”

He just lets out a groan in response, and rolls onto his stomach.  
...

“Sorry I took so long.” I say when I walk back into my room. Snow had sat up, leaning back against a couple of pillows, and Bunce was seated, cross legged on my bed. “I had people to talk to.” I add, which while true, wasn’t the reason I had taken over an hour to get food. It took longer than I meant for it to for me to hunt, and after that, I was hungry for real food, ending up shoving food in my mouth off to the side of the building before coming upstairs. It was dark enough that anyone who saw me wouldn't be likely to notice my fangs.

“What did they have to say?” Snow asks.

“Nothing important. I needed someone to pick up work for me tomorrow, but they convinced me to stay for a minute to eat... Are you hungry Snow?”

“Depends… What is it?” he asks, placing his hand to his stomach.

“Your stomach is still upset?” I ask.

He nods. “I don't feel very good, but I'm kinda hungry too...”

“I’m sorry Snow.” I say, sitting back down next to him. He leans over, resting his head on my shoulder again. “I have soup and some water biscuits if you're interested. I wasn't sure how you'd be feeling, but I didn't want to starve you either.”

“Thanks… Can I have the biscuits?”

I nod, setting the bowl of soup down on his nightstand before pulling the small package out of my pocket, opening it, and holding it out to him. “I'd recommend going slow if you want to keep them down.”

He nods, taking it from me and leaning against me. I wrap my arm around him and he sighs. 

“Thanks for this…” he murmurs, taking a bite out of a biscuit with a slight smile on his face.

“It's not a problem.” I say with a shrug.

“Still…”

We sit mostly in silence for a while as they eat. The only noise from eating and me occasionally forcing Snow to take a drink.

He finishes three of the biscuits before setting down the package and curling up into me.

“I'm sleepy again.” he mumbles.

“Your body is clearly working hard to make you better.” Bunce replies. “Get some rest.”

He coughs, and then lets out a soft whimpering noise, lifting his hand up to his head and squeezing his eyes shut. I slowly rub my hand over his arm, and he relaxes into me with a sigh, coughing another few times a moment later. He groans and closes his eyes, turning sideways to where his knees are bent, feet between my legs, forehead resting back against my neck.

“Comfortable?” I ask.

He shrugs. “You?”

“Yeah. This is good.”

“Mmm…”

A few minutes later, I hear Snow’s stomach make a noise. He lets out a small, wet belch, and sits up urgently, hand over his mouth. I quickly pick up the bin off of the floor next to me and help hold it in front of him, placing it between his knees. I see Bunce grimace as Snow empties his stomach again, looking away after a moment. I just sigh softly and rub his back, trying to comfort him a little as he retches. When he stops, he’s gasping for breath, tears dripping down his cheeks. He coughs roughly and I rub his back. 

His breathing stays heavy, I assume he's just trying to catch his breath until he starts to dry heave, and I realize he was likely trying just as hard to get his stomach to relax. He ends up pale and trembling, tears and snot dripping down his face, panting heavily.

I grab the tissues and help wipe his nose, eyes, and mouth, tossing the used tissues into the now vomit filled bin.

“Are you okay?” Bunce asks.

Snow holds up one finger, and just sits there, eyes closed, taking several deep, shaky breaths. After a minute, he opens his mouth like he’s going to speak before retching again and finally seeming to empty his stomach the rest of the way. Eventually, he slumps against his headboard. I clean out the bin, set it back on the floor, and then I pull Snow into my lap again.

“You are surprisingly caring Baz.” Bunce says.

I raise my eyebrows at her.

She raises her hands up to shoulder height and says, “Okay, sorry. You’re evil and you absolutely hate Simon. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

‘What if I don’t hate him? What if I never did? What if this whole time I’ve just been doing what my family wants me to? What if I don’t want to hurt Snow? What then? What if I happen to be completely, hopelessly, annoyingly, stupidly in love with him?’ part of me wants to say, but I don’t. I can’t. Right now may be the only time I ever have with Snow like this. Is it bad to enjoy it? He feels awful, and I’m enjoying it because it gives me an excuse to be near him. Why do I have to be like this? I'm supposed to get rid of him, not love him. Why can't I just watch him suffer and enjoy it instead of cradling him in my arms and rocking him to sleep? This is so wrong… I can't make myself stop though. “I’m only being nice because I have to be.”

“Right. Of course. Because you had to skip class to cuddle with him all day.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“You're so mean. Why can't you just admit you wanna cuddle too?”

“I'm just trying to cool you off Snow."

“Ugh… I don't even care. Just don't leave me alone.”

“I'm right here. Just relax.”

“No. I don't believe you." Bunce says. "You may say you hate him, but your actions say differently.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Sure you don’t.”

I glare at her.

She sighs. “You know... I’m here. You could always go to your own bed and let me hold him.”

Simon whines and snuggles into me. I look at Bunce. “You really want me to move him?”

“Don’t you want him off of you? I mean you hate him. You can’t possibly want him to be cuddling with you like that.”

But I do. It’s all I really want. “No, but he seems comfortable.” 

She’s smirking at me at this point, and obviously isn’t going to let it go anytime soon, so I move him off of me and go to my own bed. I instantly feel cold again, but I ignore it, pulling my blanket over myself and muttering a heating charm under my breath. Snow whimpers, and Bunce looks from him to me, a slightly confused expression on his face. Then she moves over into the spot I had left. Snow leans into her, but he seems uncomfortable. Maybe that’s just because I want him to want me though. He sits like that for a few minutes, but then he moves away from her, curling up into a little ball, lying on his side, and burying himself under his blankets. I pick up another book out of my stack from the library and start to read.  
…

Around an hour later, I hear Snow mumble something and then Bunce says, “Oh… Umm.. Yeah, sure. Sorry.” sounding somewhat hurt. Then she gets up and walks out of the room. I look over at him and watch as he struggles to sit up.

“What did you tell her?” I ask, confused.

“I told her I felt terrible and asked if she could leave.” He says, coughing before leaning back against his headboard.

“Are you feeling worse?”

“Kinda. My body hurts and I'm cold now...”

“I spelled my blankets, come over here and you can curl up with me."

He shakily pushes himself to his feet and drags himself over to my bed, still wrapped in his own blanket. I lift up one side of my blanket and let him crawl into bed with me.

"I’m going to take your temperature again, okay?" I ask softly, reaching over and picking up my wand

He nods slightly.

I pick up my wand, quietly casting the spell, and feeling my heart drop to my stomach as I notice how bad it's gotten. “Crowley... 42.2... That's bad Simon...”

He just groans, curling into my chest. "Why'd you leave earlier? I was comfy..."

"Bunce told me to."

“Mmm. Penny’s great but she’s not as nice to snuggle with.”

“Really?” I laugh, looking at him over my shoulder. “Why is that?”

“Too short for me to rest my head on her shoulder, too warm, and your hair doesn't get in the way.”

I run my fingers through his hair and he groans, nuzzling in close. "Feels nice.” 

I smile, but don’t respond, just helping to adjust the blankets before relaxing.  
…

I wake up a little while later and to find Snow gone, the bathroom door open and the light on.

I go to check on him, finding him on his knees in front of the toilet, one arm wrapped tightly around his stomach, the other on the toilet seat, his position tense and clearly uncomfortable, goosebumps over his still shirtless back.

I knock on the door frame to avoid startling him as I walk inside, stepping over and lowering myself to the floor beside him. From this angle I notice that his eyes are shut tightly and there are tears running down his cheeks. I reach over and gently brush them off before rubbing his back.

“I feel like I’m going to throw up, but I can’t.” he whimpers. “It hurts so bad…”

“I’m sorry.” I say, unsure of how to help. "Is there something I can do?"

I hear his stomach gurgle and he grimaces, letting out a soft whine. “Ngh... No... I’ve been here for so long... Nothing’s happened. Every time I think about going back to bed it gets worse, and I feel like I might finally throw up, but then I don’t, and I just keep sitting here.”

I move over and rub his back in little circles, moving around his back. He's hot and his muscles are incredibly tense. “Try to relax. It’ll be okay.”

He burps and groans before letting out a soft sigh. 

“Do you want to go back to bed?” I ask quietly.

“I’m worried that if I do, I won't make it back in here when I do throw up.”

“Magic is a great tool when it comes to cleaning. It only takes a second, and you sitting in here for another hour isn’t going to make you feel any better.” 

He nods, but before I have a chance to help him up, he belches, gags, and ends up dry heaving.

After almost five minutes he stops, whimpering softly as he pants, trying to catch his breath.

“I’m sorry, Simon.” I murmur. “Let’s get you back into bed...”

He takes a few more seconds to breathe before letting me help him to his feet. He's barely even up before he sways and almost collapses, causing me to have to grab him, wrapping my arms around his waist in a sort of awkward hug.

“Are you okay?”

“Not really.” he replies, adjusting himself so his feet were properly on the floor and continuing to lean into me. He ends up with one arm around me, the other wrapped tightly around his abdomen, head on my shoulder. I know he’s only hugging me because he didn’t have the strength to hold himself up, but it’s kind of nice. I adjust my arms so I could hold onto him better, and he nuzzles into the crook of my neck.

“I think you are going to burn me with your forehead, Simon.” I tease, resting my hand lightly on the back of his head so he won’t think I want him to move it.

He huffs out a soft laugh. “Sorry.”

We stood like that for a long time. Every once in a while, he would burp softly, or his stomach would make an alarming noise and he would press his forehead a little harder into the side of my neck, but after almost half an hour without him puking, I quietly ask, “Do you want to go lay down now?”

He nods, the movement so slight that I likely would have missed it if he wasn't curled into my neck.

“I’m going to carry you."

“I can walk.” he murmurs.

“I’m going to carry you.” I repeat firmly. “You don't need to do anything but relax right now.”

He groans as I carefully scoop him up bridal style, quickly resigning himself to it, his body going almost fully limp, his head dropping onto my shoulder again.

I lay Snow down on his bed, and then turn off my alarm before laying down next to him. I don’t plan on going to my classes the next day. I check his temperature, which had gone down a tiny bit, but was still at an alarming 41.6 degrees.

He pulls me close and sighs as I run my fingers through his hair, relaxing against me. We lay like that in silence for around twenty minutes, but then, without warning other than a loud gurgling noise from his stomach, he retches, vomiting on both of us. 

I sit up, trying to keep myself calm as I reach for my wand. I know he hadn’t meant to, and that he likely felt bad enough without me saying anything, but the smell was sickening, and it had ended up everywhere.

“Ugh.” I grumble.

“I’m so sorry.”

“I know.”

“Really, I didn’t even realize I was going to until…”

“Shh… It’s alright.” I say softly, using a couple of spells, and quickly getting everything cleaned up. “Do you feel any better now?”

“I mean... my stomach hurts less... I have a worse headache now though.”

I run my fingers through his hair and he curls back into me. “I’m sorry you feel so bad…”

“I’m sorry I just puked on you.”

“It’s all good. It only took a second to clean up.”

“Thank you for being so nice to me…”

I don’t know what came over me, but I lean over and press my lips against his forehead. He looks me in the eye and says nothing. He just sort of stares, a surprised and slightly confused look on his face. I blush and stand up, walking back to my own bed.

A minute later, Snow clumsily drags himself over to my bed and lays down next to me. “What just happened?” he asks.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t need to be embarrassed...”

“Let’s just pretend the last five minutes didn’t happen.”

“I kind of liked…” He says then he seems to realize something. “I like that idea.” he sighs.

“Good.” I say, though I’m wondering why he hesitated with that sentence. He’s just sick… But it sounded like he was going to say something completely different. I don't know. He has a girlfriend. Is that why he reacted like that? Or did he really mean what he had said and I'm only imagining that he didn't because I want him to have liked it?

Snow coughs before pulling himself closer to me, resting his head on my chest. I sigh, and he looks up at me with his chin still on my chest. “Are you okay?” he asks.

“I… I honestly don’t know.” I reply, reaching my hand up to run it through his hair again. “I mean physically, sure. I’m great, but…” I sigh, shrugging slightly.

He moves up and ghosts a kiss on my cheek, before resting his head back on my chest.

My eyes widen slightly. “What was that?”

Snow shrugs.

“Snow, you realize you have a girlfriend right?”

“You didn’t seem too bothered by that a minute ago.”

“First of all, I wasn’t thinking. Secondly, even if I don’t care, you should.”

“She flirts with you too…”

“You’ve noticed?”

“You didn’t think I would?”

No not really. He’s always so oblivious to everything. I mean I know he knew I flirted with her, but I didn’t realize he knew she did it back. I only did it to get on Snow’s nerves. “I don’t know…” I finally say.

“You don’t actually like her do you?” he asks, the sentence almost more of a statement than a question.

“Not even a little.”

“And you don’t hate me.”

“You get on my nerves, but no.”

“Huh.”

“You should relax Snow. You’re still sick.”

“So you…”

“Hush.” I say softly. “Get some sleep.”

“Make me.”

I arch an eyebrow at him. “What are you 5?”

“Would you let me finish my question?”

“No.”

“Fine.” he says. “I’ll figure it out myself.” He pushes himself up on his arms, leans forward, and then he kisses me, and I groan softly, kissing back without another thought. I might be surprised, but if this is my only chance, I’m going to take every second of it.

He pulls back with a soft gasp. “I'm sorry... You’re going to get sick.”

“Trust me. I won’t.” I say, not that I would care even if I could. It's worth it.

“I have a girlfriend...” he murmurs, mouth barely a millimeter from my lips.

“I thought you didn’t care.”

“I’m not sure I do.” he replies. "Should I?"

Probably, but I can't bring myself to. Instead of answering, I move my hand to the back of his head, and pull him down into another kiss. 

The kiss is long, soft, and slow, his body pressed against mine, hand cupping my cheek. It’s so good... I don’t ever want it to end, but eventually, he pulls back for a breath, and I realize I had barely been breathing myself.

“You should sleep.” I say softly, my face hot, breathing heavy.

“Mmm…” he hums, only a little way away from my lips. “Not yet.”

He kisses me again, and I let myself take in the feeling of it, kissing back until he pulls away again. “What about now?” I ask, wanting him to say no, but knowing he was sick and needed sleep.

“You sound like you want to stop.”

“Not at all... I want you to feel better though.”

“But… This makes me feel better.”

I laugh softly. “You have a fever Simon. Are you sure you’re thinking clearly?”

He rolls his eyes and laughs, triggering another coughing fit. 

“Do you want me to get your water?” 

“‘m okay.”

“Are you sure?”

He nods, turning and coughing again. 

I sigh, rolling my eyes as I pick him up, carrying him over and setting him on his own bed. Then I pick up his glass and hand it to him. “Drink.”

He sighs, doing as I asked. “Thank you… You’d better come snuggle more though.”

“Sounds good to me.” I say, kissing his forehead before placing the glass back on the nightstand and lying next to him. He crawls back onto me and rests his head on my chest.

“Your heart beats really slowly.” he murmurs after a moment.

“I’m pretty sure it’s normal.” I lie. It is slower. By a lot actually. I had hoped he wouldn’t notice. I’m not ready to tell him about that yet.

“I don’t think so.”

“You’re tired, Simon. Go to sleep.”

“Nnngh...” he grumbles.

I gently run my fingers through his hair, lightly massaging his scalp.

“‘s not normal.” he mumbles, his tone sleepy.

I don't respond, just continue to play with his hair, starting to rub his back with my other hand. A few minutes later, his breathing deepens and he starts to snore.

Did I really just let all of that happen?  
...

I wake up at around noon the next day, Simon still sleeping on top of me. He’s soaked with sweat, and so am I. I gently move him off of me, covering him with a thin blanket before going to get my wand and check his temperature again. 38.4 degrees. Not great, but certainly much better than before. I cast a couple of cleaning charms on him, and he groans softly, curling up on his side before continuing to snore. I chuckle lightly and lean down, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek before going to take a shower.  
...  
Simon:

I sit up and stretch before glancing at the clock. 12:15. That’s weird. The shower is running. Is it Saturday? I don’t have any idea what day it is actually. It’s strange and extremely disorienting. I walk dizzily over to the wall and check the calendar. It says it’s Friday, and yet Baz isn’t in class for some reason. Maybe he caught whatever I had. He never skips class. I sigh and sit back down, letting my eyes fall closed again. Baz walks out in pyjamas about five minutes later.

“Shouldn’t you be in class?” I ask.

“Does it matter?”

“Aren’t you going to get in trouble for skipping?”

“You’re worried about that today?”

“What do you mean?”

“You begged me to stay yesterday, but today you question whether or not I’ll get in trouble?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Yesterday morning? You don’t remember?”

“You’re messing with me, right? Why would I do that?”

“You had a really high fever… You weren’t thinking straight. You really can't remember that?”

“I barely remember anything from the past two days...”

“I assume that means you’re feeling better?”

“Yeah. Still not doing great, but definitely better... I really tried to get you to stay yesterday?”

He nods. “And I did. I was worried that if you were sick enough to want me to stay, you might die if I left.”

I laugh, regretting it when it causes me to cough, my throat burning fiercely. “I’m sorry about that... I don’t know why you decided you cared though.”

“I’ve told you before, when you die, I’m going to be the one to cause it. Not some stupid thing you do because you have a 42 degree fever.”

“Sorry I bothered you.”

“You always bother me.”

“I’m sorry about unintentionally bothering you.”

“You do that a lot too.”

I groan, rolling my eyes. “I’m sorry for making you miss class. That’s all. Anything else, I’m fine with.”

“Do you really not remember anything from the last two days?” he asks, an odd expression on his face. Sad almost. It’s weird. Then again, anything other than frustration, annoyance, or boredom is strange for him.

“No not really. I remember feeling awful, Penny coming over, and now that you mention it, I guess I do have this vague memory of you being here. I just thought it was after class. Everything is pretty foggy.” I reply. “Why?”

“No reason.” he says, the sadness in his eyes darkening to the familiar frustrated look I’m used to.

I don’t know why, but something about the way he’s asking makes me just worried enough to ask, “Baz, are you okay?”

“Fine.” he says, completely back to the usual ‘I’m barely dealing with you being here’ annoyed tone, as he grabs clothes and walks back into the bathroom.

I guess I fell asleep because when I wake up again, he’s gone.  
…  
Baz:

Of course he doesn’t remember. Why would he? I walk into the woods without a plan in mind. I just needed to get out of the room, and I didn’t see the point of going to class and trying to explain why I had missed the first few classes and not the rest. It was easier to just wander around for the afternoon. Besides, I needed the exercise after not moving all day the day before. I wander around for a little over six hours before grabbing food, collecting my homework, and going back to our room.

Snow is asleep when I get there, seeming fairly comfortable. I sit down on my bed and let myself stare at him as I eat. His bronze hair a mess from not being fixed in days, his still too pale face, red nose, lightly flushed cheeks, his slightly parted lips (for once he has an excuse to breathe through his mouth). I sigh, thinking back to the night before when those lips had been on mine. Why couldn’t he just remember it? I could remind him. He had seemed to want it… What if it was just the fever though? I suppose I don’t have to be nice about it to bring it up… The real question is whether or not I want him to remember. It will only end poorly… I continue to look at him. Eventually, I finish eating and set my empty plate on the nightstand before putting back on my pyjamas. Before going back to my bed I walk over to him and run my fingers through his hair. He doesn’t wake up, just hums and leans into it, and without thinking, I lean down and kiss his forehead. I’m so weak...  
…  
Simon:

When I wake up the next morning, I’m starving. I get up, take a shower and get dressed before going to get breakfast. Penny was sitting at one of the tables when I got there. I go to get a plate of food and then I sit down across from her.

“Good morning. You’re up early.” I say.

“I was hoping to see you. I went to check on you yesterday, but you were asleep. Baz said you seemed to be feeling better though. I was guessing that if that were true you'd be starving this morning.” 

“You were right... I am.” I say, smiling a little.

“You do seem to be feeling a lot better. Your face actually has some color now.”

“I am.”

“Good.” she says, smiling a little. “So... what’s going on with you and Baz?” 

“Nothing?” I say, confused. “He seems more angry with me than usual. I'm why though. I must have driven him crazy the past few days or something.”

“Huh. He was pretty nice the other day. He even stayed with you yesterday too.”

“He wasn’t doing it for me. He just wanted to skip class.”

“You know he never just skips class.” she argues.

“Then he’s plotting something else. I don’t know. Why would he do it for me?”

“You had a really high fever. I think he was worried.”

“I barely had a fever yesterday. Besides, why would he ever be worried about me?”

Penny shrugs. “I don’t know Simon.” she sighs. “He seemed very content when he was cuddling you the other day.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You don’t remember?”

“You’re joking right? Cuddling? Baz and me? Are you sure you didn't have a fever too?”

She rolls her eyes. “I know what I saw, Simon, and he seemed genuinely happy about it, even if he did deny it.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“It’s the truth.”

“He’s got to be plotting something then.”

“Or maybe not.” Penny says.

“What else could it be?”

Penny sighs. “I don’t know, Simon. He said he was just trying to get you to sleep so he would be able to. It’s possible he really did just want to be able to sleep.”

“It doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t change anything.”

“I suppose you are right.”

“How have you been?” I ask.

I let her talk while I finish my breakfast, shoveling food into my mouth quickly even for me.

“I have 3 days of homework I should go and get done.” I say a few minutes later, standing up and putting away my plate.

“Do you want me to help you?” she asks.

“Do you mind?”

“Not at all.” she says, standing up. “Let’s go.”

The two of us walk up to my room and find Baz still sleeping. To be fair it is only a little past 8, but I still found it funny. I walk over and open up the curtains. It’s beautiful outside, sun shining and a light breeze blowing through the campus. Baz makes a small groaning noise and pulls his blanket over his head. Penny giggles softly.

I get all of my stuff and sit down on my bed. Penny sits next to me.

“Where do you want to start?” she asks.

I shrug and flip through the stack of papers with a sigh. “I hate missing class.” I grumble.

“It’s not that bad. I’ll help you get it done quickly.”  
…  


Baz:

Snow opens the curtains as usual, waking me up and causing all of my exposed skin to tingle. I groan softly, pulling my blanket up over my head before it got worse. Bunce laughs, but I ignore her. She probably thought it was just the light that was annoying me.

After a little while I just get up. I go take a shower and when I walk back out of the bathroom. I hear Snow sigh loudly.

“I’m sorry Simon, but this is hopeless. I’ve tried explaining this six different ways.” Bunce says.

“It’s fine.” Snow replies. “I'm gonna fail anyway.”

“What are you trying to do?”

“The math homework from yesterday.” 

“I can help if you want.” 

Snow gives me a strange look. “Why?”

“Never mind.” I say picking up my own books and moving to my bed to get started on what I had left to do.

“No. Please help. I cannot explain this to him.” Bunce says.

I look over to Snow. He doesn’t say anything. “Do you want some help?”

He shrugs.

“Move over.” I tell Bunce.

She sighs and moves to the end of Snow’s bed, and I sit down next to Snow, picking up his math book and flipping back to the beginning of the chapter to find a simple problem.

“Try this first, and we'll go from there. That way I figure out where you're getting confused.” I say pointing at the first question: x^2 +4x-32.

Snow writes it down and then groans. “I don’t even know where to start… My head is killing me...”

“Okay… Well, what you’re trying to do is find out what two numbers add to equal 4 that also multiply together to equal -32.” I say. “So why don’t you write out what numbers you can multiply together to get -32.”

Snow makes a small table of numbers and then looks over at me. 

“Okay now which ones equal 4 when you add them together?” I ask.

He points to 8 and -4.

“So now you just write out the answer in parentheses, like this…” I say taking his pencil from him and writing (x+8) (x-4) on his paper. “Does that make sense?”

“I guess…”

“Perfect.” I say. “Ready to move on to some harder ones?”

Snow nods, taking his pencil back.

“Seriously? I told you that about three times and he only has to explain it once? Crowley Simon! I should just leave. Baz can take care of helping you.” Penny exclaims.

“Don’t leave… unless you really want to… I mean… I’m not trying to tell you what to do... I don’t want you to leave, but you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.” Snow says.

Penny laughs. “I know what you mean, and I was just teasing you Simon.” She gets up and grabs one of my books out of the stack of finished ones on my nightstand. “Is it okay if I read this?"

I shrug. “That’s fine.”

About an hour later Snow had finished his math homework. “Need help with anything else?” I ask.

“I think I’m okay for now, thanks. Besides, don’t you have your own homework to do?”

“It won’t take me very long to do it though.” I say with a shrug. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’m good for now.”

“Okay. Just let me know if you change your mind.”  
…  
Simon:

Baz sitting this close to me on my bed like that brought back some little pieces of memories from two days ago. I could remember having my head on his shoulder, how cold he was, and how comfortable snuggling with him had made me. It was weird. The other thing that I remembered was throwing up on him. Why did I have to remember that of all things? I couldn’t remember most of what had happened, but of course that is one of the things I can remember. My head is killing me by the time I finish my math homework, and though I try to start on Latin, the letters feel like they are swimming in front of my eyes.

“I’m going to take a break.” I say, to no one in particular, setting my book down and squeezing my eyes shut.

“You okay Snow?” Baz asks, looking up from his own homework.

“‘s just a headache.” I say.

“Okay.” he says. He looks back down at his book.

I pull one of my knees up to my chest and rest my head on it, and Penny moves over, wrapping her arm around me. I lean over into her with a sigh and instantly wish I I was leaning against Baz. Crowley, what am I thinking? Baz and I aren’t even friends. We hate each other… but he had been the one to snuggle with me while I was sick hadn’t he? I sigh, trying to shake the thought out of my brain, moving my head back off of Penny’s shoulder and onto my knee where I couldn’t smell her perfume anymore.  
…  
Baz:

Snow falls asleep, and Bunce stretches and gets up.

“Hey Baz?” she says.

“Hmm?”

“If he wakes up before I come back, will you let him know I went to do a few things and I’ll be back later this afternoon?”

“Sure. I’ll tell him.” I reply without looking up.

“Thanks.”

“Mmm.”

I finish my homework and then find myself absentmindedly staring at Snow again, not snapping out of it until he stretches and opens his eyes. Then I finally manage to make myself look away so that he wouldn't catch me staring.

“What time is it?” he murmurs through a yawn.

“12:30 ish.”

“Did Penny leave?”

I nod. “Mmhmm... She said she would be back later this afternoon.”  
…  
Simon:

“Why have you been so nice to me? I mean... I feel better today, but you are still being weirdly nice.” I say.

He chuckles. “Good to know you feel better. I guess I’ll stop being nice now.”

I sigh. “Baz…”

“Yes Snow?”

“Sorry about throwing up on you the other day.”

“You remember that now?” he asks, smirking slightly.

“Yeah.” I say, my face growing warmer.

“You already apologized for that though. Like I said before, it’s okay. If it helps it only took a few seconds to clean up.”

“I still feel bad about it.”

“Do you remember anything else?” 

“You sitting on my bed. Cuddling...” 

He nods slightly.

“Is there something specific you want me to remember?” I ask. “Did I do something really stupid or…”

“You always do stupid things Snow.” Baz says, rolling his eyes at me. “But no, not particularly.”

“What happened?”

“Figure it out for yourself. Or don’t, I don’t care.” he snaps.

“You obviously do, because you get angry every time I tell you I don’t remember what happened.” He glares at me and I sigh. “Just talk to me, Baz!”  
…  


Baz:

I’m letting myself get angry again. I need to stop. I shouldn’t have said anything at all. I shouldn’t be nice to him. He has a girlfriend… But she flirts with me… Where was she when Snow was sick? I know she can’t get in here. I don’t even know how Bunce manages it, but she didn’t even bother to send a note. Maybe she doesn’t know Bunce can get in here. Maybe she did talk to Bunce about how he was doing. I don’t know… I just want to kiss Snow again.

“Just talk to me, Baz!” Snow says, sounding like he was going for annoyed, but ending up with whiny. He clearly still doesn't feel completely better.

“It’s not important.”

“We both know you’re lying!”

“It. Isn’t. Important.” I repeat, speaking more firmly.

He groans. “Then why the hell did you bring it up?!”  
…  
Simon:

Baz goes silent again. I try a few more times to get him to talk to me, but he picks up a book and refuses to even look up anymore.

I sigh and pick up my Latin book. It takes twice as long to finish it as it usually does due to my headache, and I’m just wrapping up three hours later when Penny finally walks back into the room.

She smiles at me and sits down at the end of my bed. “Hey. Sorry I was gone so long. I got distracted.” 

I smile. “It's okay. I'm glad you're here now.”

“How are you feeling?”

I shrug. “Still blah… My throat hurts, my nose is still stuffy, and my head is throbbing.”

“Sorry Si.”

“It isn’t your fault.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t feel bad about it.”

“I’m fine.”

“So, what are you working on?” she asks, walking over and sitting on the end of my bed.

“I just finished my Latin homework.” I say, getting up and putting it away.

“That’s good. How much do you have left to do?”

I gesture toward the thick stack of papers I still had left from Greek, Magic Words, Political Science, History and Astrology and sigh slightly. “I’m exhausted. I feel like my brain is numb, and I have a lot of reading left to do on top of the papers.”

“Take a few minutes for a break and then I’ll help you with whatever you need me to. Or you can just sleep for today, and finish it tomorrow.”

“I'm too anxious about running out of time to finish…”

“It's alright. I'm sure you can get an extra day or two if you need it.”

“I'd rather get a little more done.”  
…  
Baz:

Snow sighs, coughs, and groans. “I’m so tired…”

“You’re almost done. Why don’t you finish this and then take a break? You can do the rest tomorrow.” Bunce suggests.

“What are you working on?” I ask.

“This stupid paper we’re supposed to read and answer questions on in History class. It’s boring and hard enough to read without my head feeling like it's going to explode.”

I stand up and walk over to him. “Give it to me. I’ll read it to you. You just focus on answering the questions.”

He looks at me, confused, and I roll my eyes. “Just give it to me Snow.”

He sighs and hands it to me, scooting over a bit to let me sit down next to him. “Where are you at in this?” I ask.

He reaches over and points to a sentence in the middle of the page and I start reading for him. It takes longer than it would have if I were reading it in my head and longer still because I have to stop every time he figures out an answer to a question. Over an hour, there was only one question left, and Snow fell asleep. He had tipped over onto my shoulder a few minutes prior, and was now snoring softly. I chuckle softly and Penny looks up and smirks at me.

“I think he likes snuggling with you.” she says.

“It certainly seems that way, doesn’t it?” I ask, carefully take Snow’s pen and paper away from him, absentmindedly underlining where to find the last answer in the article before setting everything down on his nightstand and wrapping my arm around him.

“Are you just going to sit there with him?” Bunce asks.

“What else would I do?”

“Switch spots with me and go back to your own bed.”

“I’m fine here. He prefers leaning on me anyway.”

“Why do you think that?”

“He told me the other day after you left. He said you’re too short.”

She laughs. “Wow... and I thought we were friends.”

“I wouldn’t take it personally. He had pretty bad fever.”

“So Pitch, are you going to be a nurse or a teacher?”

“What?”

“I mean the way you’ve been taking care of Simon it seems like one of those would be a great option for you.” she says.

“Oh.” I say with a laugh. I’m not sure how to respond to that and end up going with, “I haven’t decided yet.”

She laughs too. Snow nuzzles further into me, snoring softly in my ear.

“I guess he’s still not feeling great.” Bunce says.

“Either that or it’s just that that paper really is mind numbingly boring.”

“It really is, isn't it?”

“Incredibly.”

Snow curls up closer to me and I adjust my arm.

“You have a crush on him don’t you?” she asks.

“I guess I don’t hate him as much as I used to...” 

“You didn’t answer the question.”

“No. I don’t have a crush on Snow.”

“Sure...” 

“If you already have your mind made up then why bother asking?”

“Why do you bother denying it when you make it so obvious?”

“I don’t have a crush on him. I just don’t like it when people are in pain.”

“You don’t seem to have a problem with it when you fight.”

I sigh. “He’s the one who always starts fights. Not me.”

“You know you constantly try to provoke him.”

“Yeah, maybe… Just drop it already. Can you just get me that book off of my bed?”

She sighs. “I suppose.”  
…  
Simon:

I wake up leaning against someone. My head is on their shoulder and their skin is cold. Baz. I quickly push myself off of him, sitting up properly. “Sorry.” I mumble.

He shrugs. “Feeling better?”

“Not really. Do you know what time it is?”

“It’s like 10:30.”

“I slept for three hours?”

“I guess you needed sleep.”

“You let me sleep on your shoulder for three hours?”

He shrugs. “Like I said, you needed to sleep.”

“I… umm…”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve just been reading, same as I would have been on my own bed.”

“When did Penny leave?”

“Around 8. She got hungry and said that she probably wouldn’t be back tonight. She said her roommate was already suspicious about where she was going and she didn’t want her to find out she could get in here.”

I nod and my stomach growls loudly. Jeez, I haven’t eaten since breakfast.

“Hungry?” Baz asks.

I nod.

He walks over and pulls out a bag of crisps from under his bed and hands them to me, sitting back down next to me.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“No.”

“You haven’t eaten all day.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“That’s a long time to go without eating...” I say, opening the bag and holding it over to him. He shakes his head. His upper lip stands out a little for a moment and he clears his throat, looking away for a moment. When he looks back, his mouth is back to normal.

“It’s because your fangs will show, isn’t it?” I say confidently.

He rolls his eyes. “I am not a vampire.” 

“Then eat.”

He sighs, taking one and tosses it in his mouth. His cheeks puff up a little again. He keeps his mouth tightly shut and after his face goes back to normal he says, “See? No fangs.”

“Your cheeks stick out more when they are out.” I say.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“I watched it happen, but fine. I’ll let you continue to pretend I don’t know for sure.”  
…  
Baz:

My heart is beating so fast it’s almost back to a normal speed.

“I wouldn’t tell anyone, you know...” he says.

“Enough, Snow.”

“Baz, I already know. Just eat.”

I sigh heavily. I don't know why, but after the past few days, especially kissing him like I did, and him not remembering, nothing seemed to matter as much. Why do I care if he knows? It's not like he hasn't tried telling people before. He still doesn't have proof to show to anyone else. All it is is confirming what he already believes. I take another one of the crisps and put it in my mouth, making a point to show my teeth. He already knows and anyway, I was hungry. “Happy?” I ask, before chewing and swallowing the food. I show my teeth again as my fangs retract.

“Cool.” Snow says. Staring at my mouth.

“That’s all you have to say? ‘Cool’? Not going to freak out on me? Not going to go try to convince the Mage that you were right, so that you can finally have this room to yourself?"

He takes my hand in his and squeezes it. “Nah. Not tonight anyway. You haven’t killed me yet, and there’s the Anathema. I don’t see you being willing to get expelled.”

“I wouldn’t do anything like that to you even without the Anathema. Or anyone else for that matter. I’m not a monster.”

“I was just teasing, Baz. I told you I wouldn’t tell anyone, and I won’t. Is that why you weren’t worried about getting sick?” he asks.

I nod. 

“I wish I couldn’t get sick...”

“I don’t know that it’s worth having to feed off of the living to survive.”

Snow shrugs. “You said you’d never hurt a person, right?”

“Right…”

“Then it’s almost no different from anyone else. You just eat a different part of the animal than most do.”

I smile slightly. “Thanks. That actually helps a bit…”

He smiles back and squeezes my hand. “It must be hard for you…”

“Yeah… Sometimes, I guess.”  
…  
Simon:

Having Baz’s hand in my own just feels right. I figure he will pull it away when he wants to. We sit in silence after that. The only noise in the room is the crinkling of the bag and soft crunching of the crisps we were now sharing. When we finish them Baz puts the empty bag on the floor next to the bed.

“Do you want to finish your homework? I can finish reading this to you.” Baz asks me.

“Sure, but I can read it myself.”

He shrugs. “Just let me finish reading it to you.”

He hands me my paper and pen along with the book I had been using to write on.

He reads the last few paragraphs and I fill in the last question.

“I actually feel tired again. That paper is so boring.”

Baz laughs.”You just woke up and you’re already tired?”

“To be fair, I’m usually tired.”

He laughs again and pulls me over into him. I’m slightly confused by it, but it feels so natural to have his arm around me like this, so I don’t question it. A thought flashes through my mind. A hazy memory of his lips against mine. Did that actually happen? I decide not to ask. Not now anyway. I’m not sure how I feel about it. That’s not true. I like it. A lot. I want to kiss him now… I shouldn’t though, and I don’t. Baz rests his head on top of mine and soon I fall asleep.  
…

When I wake up the next morning Baz is still right next to me. The memory of kissing him feels even more clear. I’m fairly certain it actually happened due to how Baz had acted when I didn’t remember. I gently pry myself away from him and go get ready for breakfast. When I come back out he’s sitting on his own bed. I walk over and open the curtains.

“Mind closing that for now? It sort of hurts.” he says.

“Yeah. Sorry.” I say, then I close it and walk over and turn on the lamp. “Why didn’t you say something before now?”

“I have asked you to close it before, but you never listened. It’s not like telling you it made me uncomfortable before today would have done anything other than confirm that I’m a vampire.”

“I guess that’s true.”

Baz shrugs. “It’s not that bad really. Just uncomfortable. It does get worse if I don’t cover up my skin though.”

“So did I… did we…”

Baz arches an eyebrow at me. “Use your words, Snow. What do you want to know?”

“Maybe I won’t bring it up at all.”

“No. Tell me. What were you going to say?”

I sit down on his bed, facing him. “Did we kiss the other night?”

His eyes widen slightly. “Yeah... We did.”

“And you wanted it to?” 

He doesn’t look at me, but he nods.

“So umm… My problem is, I think I liked it, but I barely remember it, and I would like to know for sure.”

He looks up. “Does that mean...”

I lean in and press my lips against his. I feel him smile.

“So?” he asks softly as I pull away.

Instead of answering, I just kiss him again, wrapping my arms around his waist and pulling him closer to me.

“I suppose that means you like it…”

“I… umm… I should break up with Agatha.”

“Wow… That’s fast...”

“Not really. It’s been coming for awhile. She doesn’t like me. Not really anyway. I’m surprised she hasn’t already dumped me. I think the only reason I’ve stayed with her is that it was comfortable… Does that even make sense? It sounds stupid now that I say it out loud.”

“No. With everything that happens in your life, I can see why you might cling to anything comfortable. I’m surprised a kiss was all it took for you to consider losing that.”

“It wouldn’t be right for me to continue to date her after this…”

“Well, if it helps, I wouldn’t mind being the person you cling to next,” he says. “And I’m not going to stop teasing you, so nothing else will change.”

I laugh softly. “That umm… That sounds kinda nice.”

“Does that mean I can have more kisses from you?”

“If you want them.”

“How did I get so lucky?”

“You finally stopped being a complete arse.”

“Guess I should’ve tried that sooner.” he murmurs, pulling me over next to him. I press a soft kiss to his lips and then rest my head on his shoulder. He lets his head fall to rest on mine, and then lets hums softly. 

“I like this…” I say softly.

“Me too...”

We sit like that, in silence, for a long time, and I lace my fingers through his, trying to warm up his hand a little. Eventually though, I glance over at the clock and realize that I’m running low on time. “I’m supposed to have breakfast with Agatha in like ten minutes.” I murmur.

“Are you going to go?”

“I sort of need to break up with her don’t I?”

“Yeah. I guess you do. Good luck, Simon.”

“Thanks. I’ll be back soon.”  
…  
Baz:

Snow walks back into our room after a little over an hour with a plate in his hand.

“How did it go?”

He laughs softly, grinning at me.

“What?”

He shakes his head, still smiling. “She broke up with me.”

I guess I’m not surprised that she dumped him. She was clearly never in love with him. I am however, mildly amused by her choice of timing. “Seriously? What was her reason?” 

“She… She has a crush on you.” he says between giggles. “She broke up with me… so she could ask you out.” 

I laugh softly myself, shaking my head lightly. “That’s not going to work out for her.”

“No. It isn’t. I’m glad she ended it and not me though.”

“Why?”

“Because now she’s going to be more mad at herself than at me when she finds out about you and me.”

I chuckle. “You are even more mean than I am, Snow.”

“She broke up with me!” he replies, his tone is indignant, but there’s still an amused grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “And why did you go back to calling me Snow?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. I’ve never called you anything else.” 

“You called me Simon before.”

“I’m pretty sure I didn’t.”

He looks at me, frowning slightly.

I sigh, rolling my eyes and smiling a little. “Fine, Simon. Come here.”

He walks over and sits down next to me. He holds out his plate to me.

“Did you bring me back a scone?” I ask, smiling a little.

“I brought back a few. But I was hungry.”

I laugh. “Of course.”

“If you don’t eat that one now I will eat it too.”

I hand him half of it before taking a bite.

He looks at me, eyes clearly fixed on my mouth. I cover it with my hand before saying, “Can you stop staring? You’re making me uncomfortable.”

“Sorry. It’s just your fangs… They’re cool.”

I swallow and sigh. “I don’t understand why you think that.”

“I just do. Smile for me? Just once?”

I roll my eyes and give him a small, fake smile. “You’re an idiot, Snow.”

“My name is Simon.”

“Are you going to call me Tyrannus?”

“Is that what you want me to call you?”

“No, but you see my point don’t you?”

“No. Not really Tyrannus.” he says with an evil looking smirk (a look he got from me).

I roll my eyes. “See? It’s unnatural… and it does sound rather silly doesn’t it?”

“Yes, Tyrannus. It does, and until you call me Simon, it’s what I am going to call you.”

“You’ve got to be kidding...”

“No, Tyrannus. I’m not. I’m being completely serious.”

I let out a small sigh. “You don’t even use my actual name that often.”

“Sure I do, Tyrannus.” he says, mouth and eyebrows firm and serious, eyes shining with amusement.

I shake my head, unable to keep myself from smiling. “Fine. You win, Simon. Just… Enough of that.”

He laughs.

I smirk and shake my head. “So… You said we’re dating now?”

“That’s what you want right?” he asks, eyes widening a little and cheeks turning pink.

“Yes, it is, _Simon_.” I say. “Don’t be so worried.”

“Good, because that’s what I want too...”

I lean over and kiss him softly. So weak… It doesn’t matter now though. He kisses back, doing so deeply, wrapping his arms around my waist and drawing me in close. I move over, straddling his legs and gently cupping his cheek in my hand. He runs his fingers through my hair, leaving his hand on the back of my head and using it to pull my face closer to his. His tongue slides slowly against mine and I moan softly against his mouth.

“Crowley! Sorry.” an embarrassed voice squeaks from the doorway. “I knocked, but nobody answered. I assumed Si was asleep again...”

I quickly move off of Snow, my face incredibly hot. “You sure do have wonderful timing Bunce.” I say sarcastically, realizing just how out of breath I was. I think Snow may need to remind me to breathe when I kiss him... 

Aleister fucking Crowley… 

I’m absolutely useless. 

“To be fair, when I decided to come over here I wasn’t expecting the two of you to be snogging.” Bunce says. “You realize that you just told me yesterday that you didn’t have a crush on him, right?”

“You find it surprising that I would lie about that?” I ask.

“No. I just find it a little funny that it took less than a day for you to admit that it was a lie.” she replies.

“Well I couldn't exactly deny it after what you just saw…”

“Well... I guess I’ll go now. Enjoy your… Whatever. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow, Pen.” Snow says.

Bunce waves slightly and walks out the door.

Snow looks at me. “I guess I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to tell her anymore.”

I laugh and shake my head slightly. “I guess not.”

He moves to where he was pressed up against me, nuzzling his head into the crook of my neck and lacing his fingers through mine. I pick up my book off of my nightstand and open it. A few minutes later I notice Simon is reading over my shoulder, so I flip back to the beginning and start reading out loud. He laughs softly and presses a kiss to my cheek.

“What?” I ask looking over at him.

“Nothing. I just like this.”

I smile a little. “Me too.”

He only lets me read for another few minutes before he moves to cup my cheek, rubs it lightly with his thumb and then draws me into another kiss. It’s gentle and slow, and my eyes fall closed within seconds, the book slipping from my hand and onto the bed. 

Simon moves the book onto my nightstand and then gently presses me down onto my bed, settling between my legs. 

“Snow…”

“Am I doing something wrong?”

“No. It’s just- I’m not quite sure what you’re planning here.”

“Not much. I just want to kiss you. Is that okay?”

“Absolutely. I just… You just tend to act very quickly and without thinking first.”

“I won’t force you to do anything you aren’t comfortable with. I’m too tired for much more anyway. ‘s kinda why I wanted to lie down.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Just not quite over the flu.”

I lean up and press a soft kiss to his lips. “Kisses and a nap… I really am lucky.”

He laughs softly. “You’re going all mushy on me, aren’t you?”

“Don’t get used to it. I’m having a good day.”

“So you wouldn’t be upset if I laid down on you, curled up and took a nap? My head’s bugging me again.”

“I don’t mind at all. As long as you don’t mind the fact that that means I’m using you as a heat blanket.”

“I just wanna cuddle you. I don’t care if you only accept because you don’t want to be cold.”

“I didn’t say it was the only reason. Just because I enjoy stealing your body heat doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to cuddle if you were cold. I happen to like you.”

“I like you too.” 

I sigh contentedly, pulling the blanket over us. 

He grins and kisses me again. “Alright… I need a nap. I don’t want to miss another day of classes.”

“You don’t?”

“I hate trying to make up work.”

“That makes sense.”

He nuzzles into the crook of my neck, pressing a couple of gentle kisses to it. I let out a soft hum and rub his back. He’s snoring softly within minutes, clinging tightly to me. It’s warm and comfortable. I never want to get up. I could hold him like this forever.


End file.
